Blood (Not) On My Paws
by HalfSun
Summary: I didn't do it! No matter what they say, I know I didn't lay a claw on him. I'll prove it. I'll find the murderer, even if risking my own life to do so. Adopted from Kira-QueenOfDarkness!
1. Chapter 1

**This story is adopted from Kira-QueenOfDarkness**

Prologue

"Sunfeather! It's been a while."

"How are you doing, Toadfang?"

"Frostfall, it's nice to see you again."

Cats mingled and chatted with each other at the Gathering. Elders shared tongues, and new apprentices practiced pouncing on each other. Warriors said their "how do you do"'s and "hello"'s, and everyone seemed to know each other like they were family. Why not? It was greenleaf, and the clans were relaxed and comfortable.

I was talking with some of my friends too, the ones from ThunderClan and WindClan, at least until the leaders started talking. Then everyone was silent, except for the occasional sneeze from that apprentice from ShadowClan who always seems to have a cold.

Lightstar, the leader of WindClan, went first. Yada yada yada, boring stuff, rabbits getting poisoned by those dumb twolegs. Nothing that interesting.

The RiverClan warrior next to me apparently thought so too, because he leaned over to me and whispered, "When's Lightstar going to finish?" His name was Wildtail, and I'd known him my whole life. I should, considering that I'm from his clan and that he's my older brother. He had always been a rather impatient tom, snapping at others to hurry up and move on. It was no surprise that he was getting annoyed with the slow-moving ancient WindClan leader.

I shrugged. "Dunno," I whispered back.

Wildtail sighed and lashed the scruffy, ragged dappled gray tail that he had been named for. His brilliant emerald-green eyes narrowed, and he twisted the off-white fur of his muzzle into an scowl. "This is so boring, Cloudfang," he whined.

I purred. I couldn't help it; Wildtail just seemed so ridiculous, with pouty, shiny eyes that begged for the Gathering to be over, laid-back ears, spiked creamy fur, and his muzzle forming a part-snarl, part-grimace. You would've thought that he had been taken by an enemy clan and was being tortured for information or something instead of attending a friendly social event.

I poked him in the side. "Aw, it's not that bad Wildtail," I said. Wildtail glared at me. "Yeah, right."

"Will you two be quiet back there?"

I jumped. The cat sitting right in front of me, Grassclaw of ThunderClan, had twisted her sleek dark body toward us. She looked rather annoyed, and her ears were back, flat and slick against her smooth, small head. "I can't even hear Lightstar speak! Other cats matter beside you fat RiverClan fish, you know."

"Oops." I gave a nervous, wavering purr that was quickly cut off as Grassclaw let out a low, rumbling growl, surprisingly loud from someone so petite. "Sorry!"

Wildtail only rolled his eyes and said, "We weren't being that loud."

Grassclaw, the snobby she-cat, only lifted her head up, gave a little sniff, and turned back to the leaders. I glared at the back of her head, wishing that I could burn holes in them. My pelt was still hot with embarrassment, since all the cats around us had heard her reprimand us.

"She treated us like kits!" hissed Wildtail. I nodded, and dug my claws into the ground.

Finally, Lightstar finished his slow, dreary report, ending with the death of a sickly kit. Then Goosestar of RiverClan went, talking about two new warriors, Dewfall and Volewhisker, the said warriors puffing up their chests with pride. And then when he concluded with saying that the fish were fat and plentiful, next stepped up Petalstar of ShadowClan, a petite leader with a fiery temper and a fierce loyalty for her clan, before Lionstar of ThunderClan came up, going on and on about some medicine cat who had retired to the elder's den.

When the Gathering was finally over, the leaders leapt down from the Great Oak onto the ground. Goosestar called out, "RiverClan! We're heading home," and my clan followed him.

Except for me. I really needed to make dirt, so I slunk away, jumping into a clump of leafy bushes.

I was done and ready to head to the bridge when I heard a dreadful, terrified yowl, filled with fear and pain and hurt. It seemed to go on and on, filling the island with the mournful sound. I gasped, and bushed my fur up, wide-eyed and rooted to the spot.

The yowl was cut off abruptly, like a mouse's final squeaks of fear before I, the hunter, snapped its neck with a single, quick bite. The only difference: A mouse benefits my clan. Somecat screaming their head off does not.

"What's happened!" I could make out Petalstar's loud voice, filled with authority yet laced with fear.

"W-who was that?" squeaked someone else, before adding, "If you're not a clan cat, you better leave this place!" The nervous, fluttery voice and the stuttering combined with the pathetic attempt at false bravado led me to believe that it was one of our newest warriors, Volewhisker. He had always been a boaster, a she-cat's tom, and a little bit full of himself.

I poked my head out of the bushes and saw that almost everyone was past the tree-bridge. No one was moving, though. All their pelts were bristling, and flat ears and unsheathed claws were visible on all of them.

I noticed that Goosestar was missing. The mystery of where he was, however, was solved when he emerged from the shadows, from where the cry had come from.

He was dragging something along in his mouth. As he got closer and closer, I realized that it was a cat.

Goosestar put the body down, and turned to face the crowd at the tree-bridge. I didn't hear what he was saying however, because I was too captured by the body of the cat, too absorbed in its appearance.

A ragged dark gray tail had made a small trail in the pebbly shore from where its body had been found. Milky, creamy fur glowed in the moonlight. Green eyes were wide open, stretched in a look of absolute horror. An ugly red slash in the throat of the cat still bled, and drops of blood marked its path. Pearly white teeth glinted in the night, and suddenly, I found myself running toward the cat.

Toward Wildtail.

"No!" I screeched. "No!" Goosestar whirled around, shouting something at me, but I ignored him and raced to my older brother.

Up close, his features were terrifying. The scowling, impatient look he always wore had been replaced with an expression of fear and pain. Long claws showed from beneath his bloodstained, matted fur. The claws were tipped with still-drying blood.

"No," I whispered, and sank to the ground, my pads pressing against Wildtail's claws, squeezing them, hoping desperately that he would wake up.

I guess I must've fainted or something, because the next thing I knew, the world was spinning and everything became dark, and the last thing I could truly tell was real and not my imagination was slipping on the wet, sandy, rocky shore, letting the jagged stones that had broken from seasons of being smashed about in the water tear into my flesh, and my pelt brushing against Wildtail's cold, still fur.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

I awoke to a fierce, stinging pain in my side.

Blinking the black dots that swam across the vision out of my eyes, I realized that I was in the medicine cat den. I glanced at the source of the pain, and saw that my entire side was covered in a thick, gooey paste of herbs, the bitter juices worming their way into my cuts.

_How did I get the cuts? _I wondered. And then the night's events came back to me.

_Wildtail._

I guess I really did faint. The scrapes were probably from collapsing on the pointed, broken rocks on the shore of the island, something that I most definitely do not recommend trying.

I tried to get up, wincing as I did so. Feeling a little woozy, I stumbled and tripped over the ground, falling into the exact same position in the soft bed of moss.

"Ah, I see that you're awake."

I spun my head around, and saw that Barkwhisker, the medicine cat apprentice, was hobbling towards me. His right hind leg was wrapped in cobwebs and smeared with herbs even more foul-smelling than the yucky stuff on my side. His leg had been hurt a quarter-moon ago, when he fell out of a tree. It was permanently twisted. He had to give up his warrior duties and become a medicine cat. It was either that or retire to the elder's den at the age of 25 moons.

Barkwhisker pressed more greenish glop onto my scrapes, his muscles rippling as he rubbed the poultice's juices deep into my wounds, making them burn. He worked quickly and silently. Then, he said, "Goosestar wants to see you."

I nodded. "I-is it about..." My voice quavered a little. I took a deep breath and began again. "Is it about... about Wildtail?"

Barkwhisker sat as still as a stone. The only movement from him was when he said, "I think so."

Slowly, I got up, the stabbing pains in my side now just dull throbs. I pushed my way past the herbs and out of the medicine cat den, my mind whirling with thoughts.

_Why would he want me to see him?_

_ Does he think that I know who Wildtail's enemies are?_

_ Maybe he wants to tell me something important._

I arrived at Goosestar's den. It was a large piece of wood dug firmly into the ground, leaning against another piece of wood. Lichen and vines draped the entrance, and a strong smell of rotting fish came from the den.

I shuddered. I didn't like Goosestar that much. He was okay on a regular day, but when pressured and worried– such as if one of his warriors were killed – he tended to make harebrained decisions that he blamed on others whenever they blew up in his face. The only reason he became deputy was because his mother was the leader before him. Most said it was favoritism. Goosestar said that it was because he was strong and smart.

Yeah right.

The stench of fish grew stronger, and Goosestar poked his head out of the den. Bits of trout clung to his whiskers. His amber eyes narrowed, and he said, "What are you waiting for, Cloudfang? Come on in!"

I stumbled into the den, and was instantly enveloped in darkness. I let out a gasp.

"I'm sorry if it's too dark for you to see," said Goosestar. "But I like it dark. It helps me concentrate on important things." I heard some rustling, and a strip of light appeared from between two of the largest vines on the entrance.

Goosestar turned to face me. "I need to ask you something, Cloudfang, and you need to respond as honestly as you can."

I nodded.

Goosestar's expression turned serious. "How old was Wildtail?"

I was taken aback. "What?"

"How old was Wildtail?"

"Why do you need to know that?" I demanded, and then remembered that I was talking to a clan leader, however mousebrained he might've been. "Of course, you don't need to tell me if you don't want to, Goosestar," I added quickly.

The fishy smell filled the air, and Goosestar held a small trout's skeleton up, his dusty gray paws smeared with blood and shining with fish oil. His neck bent forward, nibbling the last bits of meat off the gleaming white bones.

"You just need to answer my question, Cloudfang."

"Okay." I thought back to when I was two moons old. It was so long ago, the images of my memories were blurry and missing parts. But it served its purpose: the sounds of cheering and laughter and purrs from when Wildtail had just become an apprentice were still there.

"Nineteen moons, Goosestar."

The small, skinny tom nodded, and paused for a moment, before saying:

"You are really rather large for your age, Cloudfang."

I gasped, and flattened my ears. The insults from when I was an apprentice still rang in my ears:

_"Fatty!"_

_ "You're big as a mountain!"_

_ "Haha, you're so-"_

But then I had to blink away tears, for when those mean, merciless words had come, Wildtail was the one who had defended me, saying that my size would help me on the battlefield, and that I was stronger and smarter than those who had teased me.

"Cloudfang! Cloudfang, I didn't mean it like that!" I realized that my claws were out and digging into the ground. I smoothed out my fluffed-up fur and took a deep breath.

"It's fine, Goosestar," I said rather evenly.

Goosestar replied, "I meant that your size would certainly let you overcome almost any warrior. And certainly one smaller than you. Wildtail was one of the smallest warriors, correct?"

I was nodding when I realized what Goosestar meant.

I jumped up, my head hitting the top of the den. "Are you accusing me of murdering Wildtail?" I hissed.

"Well, did you?"

"No! I didn't! I swear by StarClan, I didn't kill Wildtail!"

"Let's look at the facts," Goosestar said smoothly. "After your... ah... little fainting episode at the Gathering, the clans all came together and talked about Wildtail. One warrior, Grassclaw, said that you were the last one to talk to him." Goosestar paused. "And when I called RiverClan to cross the tree-bridge, you weren't there. That was around the time that Wildtail was killed." I stiffened, a growl rising in my throat. "Wildtail's claws were bloody, meaning that he had put up a fight." Now Goosestar waved his tail at my side, which was covered in herbal gunk and wrapped with cobweb bandages. "And you are so strong, it would've only taken a pounce, a short struggle, a quick swipe, and then he would be dead."

"But why would I kill him!" I blurted out. "We were family, the best of friends! And Wildtail's the best fighter in the entire clan. What chance could I have-"

"Cloudfang." Goosestar looked rather sorrowful. "I regret this, but the clans have come to the conclusion that you killed Wildtail. You will be banished at sunhigh."

Now I sprang forward, hissing, my paws thrashing against Goosestar's pale fur. "I didn't!" I wailed. "Don't make me leave!"

"I'm sorry. I really am."

Goosestar pushed me out of the den, coming out right after me.

"All cats old enough to fish, gather in the clearing for a clan meeting!"

Cats murmured amongst each other as they slid out of their dens, some still grooming themselves, others slurping up half-eaten fish.

"What could Goosestar want?"

"Is it about Wildtail?"

"Did they find the murderer?"

Goosestar sat by his den, his tail flicking back and forth.

"We have found the murderer of Wildtail." He paused, and cats glared at me.

"It is Cloudfang. She shall be banished at sunhigh. If we ever see her again, kill her, for that is what she did to one of us."


End file.
